Evening Star Newspaper, January 29, 1942, Page 12

The Foening St With Sunday Morning Edition. THEODORE W. NOYES, Editor. WASHINGTO THURSDAY.__ New k Office:” Chxcno Btice: 435 North Michigan Ave. Delivered by Carrier—City and Suburban. Regular Edition. l'l!mnl and Sunday.75c per mo. or 18¢ per week Evening Sllx,,,{.’)c per mo. or 10c per week Thl Sunday Stal 10c per copy lehl l'lnll Edition. Nllhg Hnll lnd Sunday Ster_. vRM per month I 0c per month 1 Tube Delivery. unday Star 3¢ per month B5c per month ‘Toe Sunday Star 10¢ per copy Gollections made at the end of each month or each w Orders may be sent by mail or tele- Shone" National 5000. Rate by Mall—l’aynble in Advance. Daily and Sunday____] yr.. $12.00: 1 mo.. $1.00 Deily only 1yr. $8.000 Tmo. 75 Bunday only - " $5.00; 1mo, 50 Entered as second-class matter post office, Washington. D. C. Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to 1t of mot otherwise credited in ihis Daper and also the local news published herein. RIPTights of publicaiion of ‘Shecial dispatches herein also are reserved. —_— Only a Partial Solution Revelation that plans are afoot to obtain priority ratings for materials to complete the new Kramer Junior High School for use as a Federal office building will come as a dis- tinct blow to the residents of Ana- costia and school officials who have been counting on the new structure to relieve the inordinate pupil load now borne by the Anacostia Junior- Senior High School. For at least two years the combined high school has been forced to operate on a double shift. This seems to be the wartime fate of many partially complete pub- lic buildings of the District. The Government has taken over the new Armory, most of the new Municipal Center and the new Central Library. The only alternative to completion and Federal occupation seems to be the undesirable one of letting the projects remain uncompleted for lack of materials. It is not for Washingtonians to say what space the Government needs in wartime and what space it should have. But the observation is ines- capable that the withdrawal of the Kramer school building from its in- tended purpose will but further ag- gravate an already serious school problem in an area largely built up, in the past year, by war and defense workers. It is the children of these workers who were to go to Kramer school. Superintendent of Schools Ballou. who is most familiar with the school needs, should have been consulted before the plan was ap- proved, yet he told a House sub- committee that the diversion plan was adopted without his knowledge. The educational problem in the area doubtless will be increased by the inability of school officials to get any favorable priority rating for even the schools especially designed to relieve the growing defense popu- lation. Such matters as these are of so much consequence that any action relating to them should be taken only after thorough discussion with every one vitally concerned. While the National Government's need for office space is recognized, there must also be recognition of the public school problem created by satisfying the Federal space need. Perhaps careful consultation with the school officials might have pro- duced a solution, furnishing office space for the Government and school facilities for the puplis. ————— " The Source American soldiers have been seen on the streets of Stratford-on-Avon. No military secret is disclosed by mention of their presence in the quiet old market town in which Willlam Shakespeare was born in 1564 and died in 1616. It is a mere chance of war that brings them into Warwickshire. They come and they go, and to some, perhaps to many, it matters little that for the moment they have been part of the picture dominated by the greatest of poets. Yet even casual thought will suffice to suggest a profound significance in the fact that troops from the United States have been so close to the source of the civilization which their country shares with the England that Shakespeare devotedly loved. He was a designer of that pattern of life for the protection of which they are enlisted. To an extent excelled by no man, he shaped the mind and molded the heart of every fellow- creature native to English speech. The commonest words on the tongue of the average American recruit are his words. Granted they only dimly realize it, the vernacular of millions of humble folk on both sides of the Atlantic was invented largely by him. Among the principal joys of seeing his plays performed or reading their printed text is that of the repeated discovery of proof of the community | | espionage system in Hawaii * of expression which unites the Anglo- Baxon world. Stratford is the most convincing demonstration of the tie. The room In which Shakespeare first saw light of day, the woolshop of his father, the grammar school in Church street which the poet almost certainly at- tended, the house of Thomas Nash, the husband of his granddaughter; the site of New Place, the cottage of Anne Hathaway at Shottery, the old stone bridge over the river, built by Sir Hugh Clopton in the time of Henry VII; the house of the mother of John Harvard, the gildhall and the townhall, and finally Holy Trinity Church where the poet's grave and effigy are: what are these relics but symbols of the power by which, under God, both Britain and America exist? Democracy is the name most gen- @rally applied to that dynamic force, THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 1942. THIS AND THAT By Charles E. Tracewell. but it is more than a concept of government, more than a system of society based upon freedom and Te- sponsibility. Studied in the burning light of the prevailing revolution, it will be comprehended as a pure, a generous and a wholly constructive aspiration. Shakespeare was the prophet of the ideal which the Axis contemns. American boys who, on their way to battle, have glimpsed the promise which Stratford’s son was privileged to phrase will be strengthened by their experience for the brave work which they are glad to do. Balance Sheet at Rio The Pan-American conference of foreign ministers held at Rio de Janeiro ends its sessions in an at- mosphere of friendly cordiality and optimism for the New World's future. Making allowances for dxplomatic face-saving and traditional Latin courtesy, there can be no doubt that the conference was a success and that it marked a distinct gain in hemispheric solidarity and co-op- eration. To be sure, the United States did not attain its maximum goal, which was a mandatory resolution for all the twenty-one republics of the Western Hemisphere to break both diplomatic and economic relations with the Axis powers— Germany, Italy and Japan. The anticipated resistance of Argentina prevented this and led to a compromise reso- lution merely recommending such action. However, it is well not to lay too much stress on Argentina’s recalci- trance and its results. For one thing, the present Argentine Government is a minority regime which came to power through a political accident and is faced with a powerful opposi- tion favoring a break with the Axis. To save its political face at home is undoubtedly one of the reasons why the Castillo government maintained an attitude to which it had definitely committed itself. Of course, there are other reasons, but none of these is strong enough to lead Argentine diplomacy to set itself against the general Latin American trend and face uncomfortable isolation. No- where else in Latin America would Argentina find support for anything savoring of a pro-Axis policy. Al- though Chile likewise has indicated it may not Immediately break with the Axis, this is due chiefly to the fact that it is in the throes of a presi- dential election precipitated by the recent death of its former chief executive. The only other country to stand out against the trend was Ecuador, and this was due wholly to its refusal to sign anything until its boundary dispute with Peru was ad- justed. Happily, a diplomatic form- ula was found by the conference which apparently satisfies both par- ties, so Ecuador presumably will go along with the great majority. ‘What, in the long run, will be even more important than these anti- Axis resolutions is the series of de- cisions for Pan-American co-opera- tion in many fields. These include the removal of tariff barriers im- peding the flow of essential raw ma- terials and manufactured goods dur- ing the present world emergency, arrangements for the pooling of shipping, extension of credit facili- ties, monetary stabilization, and other kindred matters which, when put into full effect, will weld the na- tions of the Americas into some- thing like an economic bloc. technically these are designed only for the current war period, their integrating effects will be so pro- found and mutually so beneficial that it is unthinkable that they will be summarily abandoned. This huge economic omelet simply cannot be unscrambled. Another important decision of the Rio conference was the resolution providing for a speedy meeting of the military and naval staffs of all the Pan-American nations in order to co-ordinate hemispheric defense. Here again a process of evolution has been set in motion which will not lightly be abandoned or reversed, considering the common interest | which all these nations have in safe- guarding their integrity and security against actual or potential dangers which threaten them from without. Last but not least, the Rio confer- ence has displayed a spirit of mutual understanding and forbearance in striking contrast to the brutal op- pressions and coercions which today curse both Europe and Asia. It is this spiritual victory of mingled idealism and common sense which is the best augury for the future, not merely of the New World, but of a regenerated Old World as well. Wire-Tapping Bill Spurred by the disclosure in the Roberts report that wire-tapping re- strictions rendered our counter- “ineffec- tive,” Representative Celler of New York has decided to make another attempt to induce Congress to au- thorize interception of wire and wireless messages sent by suspected spies and saboteurs. An earlier ef- fort, in 1940, met with success in the House, but Mr. Celler's bill was routed by the Senate to the Inter- state Commerce Committee, where Chairman Wheeler, for years an avowed opponent of wire-tapping, permitted it to die in a pigeonhole. Last year the House reversed its wire- tapping stand and rejected, by a close vote, the Hobbs bill to legalize wire-tapping in espionage, sabotage and kidnaping cases. Mr. Celler believes that in view of what happened at Pearl Harbor, both Houses of Congress will act favor- ably on this much-needed legisla- tion. The Roberts report said: “It While | 'was believed that the center of Japa~ nese espionage in Hawait was the Japanese Consulate at Honolulu. It has been discovered that the Japa- nese Consul sent to and received from Tokio in his own and other names many messages on commercial radio circuits. This activity greatly increased toward December 7, 1941. The contents of these messages, if it could have been learned, might have furnished valuable information.” The tragic lesson of Pearl Harbor is too fresh in the public mind to admit of any further delay in abol- ishing the counterespionage restric- tions which the Roberts board blamed for the freedom with which the Japanese fifth column operated in Honolulu. Only legislative action can fully remove the F. C. C. Act handcuffs from our military and naval intelligence officers and from agents of the Federal Bureau of In- vestigation. These dangerous shack- les should be taken off forthwith, Dollar-a-Year Men It is gratifying that Senator Tru- man and the members of his Defense Investigating Committee did not hesitate to withdraw their careless and indiscriminate charges against dollar-a-year men in the Govern- ment service after they had been told by Donald gM. Nelson, chairman of the War Production Board, that the committee’s action had hampered his efforts to revitalize the defense setup. % The Truman committee, without submitting any supporting evidence, had charged that dollar-a-year men as a class were “lobbyists in a very real sense,” and ‘in effect had ac- cused them of being loyal to their private interests and disloyal to the Government. This reckless and obviously un- founded accusation was flatly denied by Mr. Nelson, who said that con- tinued employment of dollar-a-year men was “an extremely useful ad- junct—possibly even an indispensable one—to the war program.” He added that as a result of the committee’s blanket accusation he had been hampered in his efforts to revitalize the defense setup because these men, usually industrialists who could not afford to give up their regular salaries, were “afraid to come here.” In the face of this protest and Mr. Nelson's assurance that every pre- caution was taken to prevent abuses in the employment of dollar-a-year men, Senator Truman and the other committee members promptly dis- claimed any intent to hamper the defense program and urged Mr. Nelson to engage any dollar-a-year men that he felt he needed. It should be pointed out, however, that the damage done when an un- warranted accusation is made can be cured in part only by a subsequent retraction. If the*Truman commit- tee, as well as other investigating groups would keep this fact in mind in the future, their efforts might be expected to result in more good and less harm to the defense effort. In this instance, as ig many others, it is evident that the charge was made without a reasonable effort to estab- lish its validity. If congressional investigating groups are to serve any useful purpose in the future, they will have to discontinue this irre- sponsible practice. The public, par- ticularly in time of war, has the right to insist that congressional investi- gating committees manifest a degree of self-restraint and a sense of re- sponsibility commensurate with the importance to the Nation of the activities which form the subject matter of their inquiries. Minister Hurley In nominating Patrick J. Hurley as first United States Minister to New Zealand, President Roosevelt has made an excellent choice. A veteran of the first World War, in which he served overseas with the American Expeditionary Forces and saw action in several major battles, Colonel Hurley held the post of Secre- tary of War for four years during the Hoover administration. He will thus bring to his new post both admini- strative experience and an under- standing of military problems and strategy. Like Australia, her neighbor to the north, New Zealand is threatened by the advance of Japan's war machine into the South Pacific, and, like her sister dominion, she necessarily must rely in large part on assistance from the United States to protect her against invasion. For New Zealand is a small country, with a popula- tion of approximately 1,500,000—not much larger than that of Metropoli- tan Washington. The dominion has contributed generously to the de- fense of the mother country, and in Greece, Crete and Libya New Zea- landers have fully measured up to | the fighting traditions of the Anzacs in World War I. President Roosevelt already has let it be known that this country is speeding military and other assist- ance to the outposts of the United Nations in the South Pacific. Colonel Hurley, who was recently nominated to be brigadier general, is believed to be on his way to New Zealand if he has not already arrived there. Under present conditions, military problems, rather than diplomatic routine, may be expected to engage { most of his time and attention. His Army background and his years at the helm of the War Department should enable him, as Minister to New Zealand, to help the admini- stration prepare adequate measures for the defense of the two British dominions “down under.” One suggested reason for the wool shortage in Germany is that so much of it has been pulled over the eyes of the people. r [ Of Stars, Men And Atoms Notebook of Science Progress In Laboratory, Field And Study By Thomas R. Henry. A means of saving about a third of the shipping space necessary for trans- porting flour across the Atlantic has been devised by Department of Agriculture chemists. 1t is subjected, according to a report of Dr. Henry G. Knight, chief of the Bureau of Agricultural Chemistry and Engineering, to pressures as high as 16,000 pounds per square inch. This squeezes out all the empty space between the flour particles. When the compressed flour is made into bread after several months, the chemists found, the same amount made a loaf from 15 to 20 per cent smaller, but it tasted about the same as ordinary bread. The only essential difference was that there was more of it in & slice. The possibility that there might be some unfavorable reaction against the heavier bread, both in the United States and England, has led to further experi- ments on means of putting the empty space back into the flour by some process in the bakery so that it will make loaves of about the same volume as those sold at present. The reduction in the size of & ton of flour, Dr. Knight points out, should have considerable importance in military rations where economy of transporta- tion space is about as essential as in shipments overseas. At the same time, Dr. Knight reports, experiments by Department of Agricul- ture chemists have led to the possibility of & new kind of bread which will meet most of the requirements of the present national nutrition program without re- sort to artificially enriched flour. The’ current practice is to replace in white flour the vitamins and minerals contained in the original wheat grain but lost in the milling process. One of the first steps in milling wheat is to get rid of the so-called wheat germ, a tiny portion whose Inclusion would cause the product to spoil after a short period of storage. But, Dr. Knight says, this germ contains a large part of the essential vitamins and minerals. It used to be included when most flour was milled in local mills for use within a short time in the neighborhood. There never has been any question but that whole wheat bread would be as good, or better, than the present en- riched bread sold both in the United States and England. However, the American people never have had a very favorable reaction to it. Efforts to have it used on a large scale during the last war were indifferently successful in spite of a lot of expensive propaganda. There has been a demand for whiter and whiter flour. When this reaction is coupled with the poorer keeping, the whole wheat solu- tion of the nutrition problem is hardly practical, the National Nutrition Confer- ence last spring was convinced. It was more effective and practical to add iron, calcium, thiamin, nicotinic actd and riboflavin. In the new bread proposed by the Department of Agriculture chemists the white flour would be milled in the same way as at present but the wheat germs would be saved and made into a separate flour. Then the two would be mixed in a ratio of 15 per cent germ flour to 85 per cent ordinary flour in the bakery. The result, says Dr. Knight, is a bread containing nearly all the vitamins and between 75 and 80 per cent of the min- erals in whole-wheat bread. Precise analyses of the thiamin and vitamin A values of 128 common foods have just been completed by chemists of the United States Department of Agriculture. Thiamin is the well-known “nerve vitamin,” deemed essential for keeping up American morale. Vitamin A is necessary for vision in dim light and probably as a general preventative of infections. It is possible to obtain these vitamins in the form of drug store tablets but physicians are unanimous that they should be obtained so far as possible from the ordinary diet. Information on the richness of common foods, however, has been vague and confusing to the average housewife. The vitamin value of the foods was determined by the growth response shown by young rats after their devel- opment had been brought to a standstill by feeding them diets adequate in every- thing except the substance under test. Among the purposes of the research was to furnish data for the Red Cross on the best types of foad to be sent to Great Britain. Another was to secure data for Army diets. It has long been known that vitamins may be destroved by cooking, or even by storage. The Department of Agri- culture studies show that the losses in some cases are so great that the vitamin value of the food is almost completely lost. Different styles of cooking also have pronouncedly different effects. Fresh peanuts are one of the richest of all foods in thiamin. But the Depart- ment of Agriculture workers found that they lose from 70 to 80 per cent of this vitamin when they are processed in hot oil or roasted for use as salted nuts or in peanut butter. Both commercial and household meth- ods of canning lean pork, which also has a very high thiamin content, caused a loss of about 80 per cent. Frying slices of lean ham brought about less than 10 per cent loss. Dried beans lost practically no thia- min when cooked in boiling water, but they lost about 30 per cent when baked. Commercially canned baked beans were about three-fourths as rich in thiamin value as home baked beans. Samples of blackstrap molasses from Cuba, Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo were about a fourth as rich as lean pork in the nerve vitamin. Highly refined molasses, such as is most commonly used in cooking, carried only bare traces of thiamin. Potatoes lost about 50 per cent of their ascorbic acid—the vitamin C necessary as a protection against scurvy—when made into potato chips. When stored at room temperature these chips continued to lose the vitamin. Spinach, a food rich in vitamin A, was found to contain only half as much per pound when dried without preliminary cooking as when dried after being cooked. Almost all leafy green vege- tables, it was found, lose vitamin A fairly rapidly when stored. Preliminary inves- A correspondent advises this column that uncooked rice is good for attracting cardinals, Sunflower seed is a little better, but no doubt rice would help, especially if put in a mixture. ‘We have never used this foodstuff for the birds, nor have we ever heard of it being 50 used. There is nothing against it, except some specimens of white rice have been 50 polished that some of the minerals and vitamins have been taken out of them. This fault has been overcome in recent years, with the hullabaloo about vita- mins. At on: time physical culture “cranks” declared that only brown rice was fit to eat. ‘They claimed that a diet of white rice and nothing else would kill an animal quicker than if it had no food at all *xx Birds in the open have an oppor- tunity to get some animal food, even in winter, and this is what helps them mightily if faced with too much of a carbonaceous diet, as served up to them by a kindly person in his or her backyard. There is little likelihood that the car- bohydrate diet of seeds and grains will |, harm in winter any but a bird which is sick already. ‘There is some chance that too much of this food may have a bad result in sum- mer, but not many persons continue to put out food for the songsters in the summer. ’ Probably all that should be done, in this respect, in hot weather, is to take care of the cardinals and a few others which like sunflower seed. This is the great favorite of cardinals and many others, including the gray squirrels which abound in this vicinity. ‘We hope no one begrudges the squir- rels. They contribute a great deal to garden gayety in most neighborhoods. It is true that they will scatter the birds, when they dash up, but soon the feath- ered folk will be gathered all around, in no way afraid of the four-legged in- truder. Squirrels are great fun, if looked at properly, and without prejudice. Often it is possible, even for the confirmed squirrel hatey, to grow into admiration of this animal, merely by waiting a little while before trying to take any “action” against it. In the interim, the antics and grace of the creature will win friends and in- fluence people. * % *x ® A writer in Horticulture recently told how he keeps squirrels from getting into a bird-feeding station. He greases the uprights, two iron pipes, with bacon fat. When Mr. Squirrel approaches confi- dently, he cannot climb the greased poles, but slides down every time. At least, so the writer says, and it may be true. We would like to try this, just to see if the squirrels in our yard could not solve the problem of the greased pipes. One drawback would be that the pipes would have to be given a treatment after every rain. But it would be fun to watch the agile animals try to go up and not be able to make it. If the station were placed near shrub- bery or trees, the squirrels would climb up them and leap over. In the communication referred to, the pipes were approximately nine and one- half feet long, with one and a half feet in the ground. We believe that “our” squirrels, if challenged, could leap into the air that high. % %= It\is not commonly realized, perhaps, that most seeds eaten by birds are not taken whole, but are cut open and the meat or kernel extracted. Some species, particularly the smaller ones, such as the goldfinch, are amaz- ingly clever at doing this. It is said that the goldfinch can open a very small seed so that to the naked eye it appears untouched. Close examination, however, will show the seed is empty, although as round as ever. Certainly this is true of sunflower seed, when eaten by any species. Car- dinals love this seed just a little better than other species, we believe, They will eat it exclusively, and thrive upon it. One of the best reasons for having a feeding station at a window is to be able to watch the way the various birds eat sunflower seed. Some seize a seed and fly away with it. Chickadees and tit- mice do this. The cardinals, however, prefer to eat where they find. The female, in particular, is a daintier eater. She cracks a seed and carefully drops the bits of husk over the side of the station, one by one. The male is not so particular, but lets the husks fall where they may. The meat of the sunflower seed, espe- cially of the larger specimens, is very tasty, even to a human. Try it, some time, and see what it is the birds and squirrels like. The sunflower kernels have a nutty flavor which is not at all bad. Much of the sunflower seed used the world around was grown in Russia. We suppose this import is cut off now. There can be little question that America’s needs of sunflower seed can be grown in this country. Every person with a bit of vacant ground, especially at the backs of ga- sunflowers. Left to ripen, they would afford the wildbirds food all fall and winter. And their cheerful faces and lush, rank growth would add cheer to many a human observer, although he might not stop to pay much attention to them at the time We are often helped in this way by sights which we little regard at the time, but which make a good impression, nevertheless. Letters to Objects to Proposal to Abandon Western Market. To the Editor of The Star: To one who has lived in Washington many years and so is familiar with basic problems of our community, the present would seem to be a poor time to close Western Market at Twentieth and K streets N.W. Quite apart from throwing a group of people out of their means of livelinood, in itself a serious matter, here are some factors that should be considered: | area of Washington to which local grow- | ers of Maryland and Virginia can bring their farm produce and sell direct to the public. ‘These articles are not only fresher and often of better quality than those that must be shipped from a dis- tance, but many products are obtain- able here not to be found elsewhere, such as smoked meats, homemade jams and jellies, flowers and growing plants. More and more people are crowding into Washington. The chain store stocks already are depleted, their prices mount- ing and their service more and more in- adequate. line for 20 minutes for the privilege of paying one’s check. There is only “self- service,” no deliveries, no charge ac- counts, no telephone orders. Since this already is the situation, what is it likely to become after priori- ties on railroad shipments and other factors have still further restricted the chain store services? What contribution is it to defense to cut off a vital life line of supplies? Instead of abandoning Western Mar- ket in these critical times, with the food problem becoming more acute, I suggest and urge that it be more widely adver- tised and publicized so that more resi- dents may know of the advantages it has to offer. I often have been amazed to meet persons that have kept house here for years and not even learned of the existence of our time-honored West- ern Market. WEST END RESIDENT. Discusses Pay Increase For Firemen and Policemen. To the Editor of The Star: The proposal to assign our young sol- dier boys, receiving $21 per month, to night police duty in Washington, and a congressional committee voting to in- crease salaries of Washington firemen and policemen a full $25 per month, is at this time inequitable and inconsistent beyond words. Such class favoritism must create disgust in the heart of every soldier so assigned. Haven't the fairly well compensated capital police and firemen enough patriotism and pub- lic spirit to make just a small “sacrifice” in the present grave emergency? Of course, the saddling of $700,000 annually, as proposed, on the real estate taxpayers of the District to meet this raise for a favored few is hardly worth calling at- tention to, as things now are being done. Any one, even slightly familiar with — e tigations indicate that they contain a substance which destroys it. Special investigations were conducted on the ablity of the body to store vitamin A. This is one of the few substances of which a reserve can be built up above the daily requirements, but in order to do this there must be plenty of fats in the diet. Western Market provides the only out- | | let in this large and populous West End | One sometimes can stand in | the Editor l Letters to the Editor must bear the name and address of the writer, although the use of a pseudonym for publication is permissible. Tke Star reserves the right to edit all letters with a view to condensation. | | such matters, must realize how the heat | is put on members of Congress, but so far as the reasonable, equitable interests of Washington taxpayers are to be con- sidered, or the assigning of our soldier boys to render identical service for which more fortunate men will be paid several times over the drafted man's rate of pay, what can be expected of a legislative body which in the present national crisis —in the judgment of our highest author- ity the gravest the country has ever faced —vote themselves pensions, available when defeated politically, on the possible basis of an assessment of just one day's pay? All honor to Senator Capper for his courageous and honest letter to the President on the subject. FRED L. WILLEY. Complains About Buses Only Partly Filled. | To the Editor of The Star: In the past few months I have experi- | enced a very unsatisfactory means of | transportation. As a resident of Wilson boulevard in Arlington, Va., I find it most inconvenient to arrive at my office, p ’ | in one of our Government buildings, on | the desired hour due to the laxness in our bus service. It seems by the time the Wilson boule- vard bus has made a few stops there is no room for those who already have watched bus after bus pass by. Some of these buses are crowded to the door, very true, but there are 50 per cent of these same buses with space for any- where from seven to ten additional per- sons. The space is available but every one crowds to the front and the drivers let this situation remain as is. Several times I have called the termi- nal office to complain. Their one and only excuse was that they needed addi- tional buses and could not obtain them, though on order. Several weeks ago they received these much-needed buses and still I watch an endless chain of un- crowded buses pass by. I realize that more people are riding the bus nowadays due to the conserva- | tion of rubber, causing them to leave | their automobiles at home. But I think the drivers should aid the existing sit- uation by forcing the passengers in the rear of the buses to make space for those who live further down the route. A V. W, Expresses Appreciation Of Forum Broadcast. To the Editor of The Star: Your National Radio Forum transmit- ted on January 19 through Station KGKO for the Dallas area was most interesting and gave the employes and the public a new insight into the matter of salary adjustments. The retirement discussion also was dealt with in a most admirable manner and I wish to express my personal appre- ciation to Congressman Ramspeck, Sen- ator Mead, your very fine newspaper, your staff and the transmitting radio station, O. D. ASTON, Vice President, United Association of Post Office Clerks. | Mozart is reputed to have w Haskin’s Answers - To Questions By Frederic J. Haskin. A reader can get the answer to any question of fact by writing The Eve- nhw Star Information Bureau, Fred- eric J. Haskin, director, Washington, D. C. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. How long can the average automo- bile tire be kept in storage before it de- teriorates?—O. C. B. A. The National Bureau of Standards says that a well-made tire usualy can be stored for a year or two without great deterioration. Q. What did the production of eggs amount to last year?—G. O. A. The total production for 1941 was over 40,000,000,000 eggs, 4 per cent more than in the previous record year of 1930, Q. Can you tell me if the brightly col- ored plumes are the peacock’s true tail. —F.C.0. A. The plumes are the tail eovem The true tail is short and quite plain. Everybody’s Songbook—A collec- tion of 205 carefully selected and expertly edited songs, complete with words and music—the ,old favorites we all love to sing. The musical arrangements are all with- in the range of most voices. This little book is 6 by 9 inches in size, has 144 pages, with an attractive, durable cover printed in three colors. To secure your copy of this book inclose 20 cents in coin wrapped in this clipping and mail to The Star Information Bureau. Q. How many muscles are there.in the arm?—R. 8. S. A. There are, in all, 48 muscles con= cerned in the movements of the arm, forearm and hand. Q. T should like the origin of the old adage: “To let the cat out of the bag."— HTC. A. To let the cat out of the bag means to disclose a secret. It was formerly a trick among country folk to substitute a cat for a sucking-pig and bring it in a bag to market. If any greenhorn chose to buy a “pig in a poke” without exami- nation, all very well; but if he opened the sack, “he let the cat out of the bag,” and the trick was diclosed. Q. Please tell me why the areas of some States have decreased according to the 1940 census.—C. W. A. The Bureau of the Census says : X | that individual variations in the land rages, even in cities, could grow some | areas of the several States may be mscribed to decreases or increases in water area, map improvements involving longitudinal and latitudinal position, or to the more accurate placement of boundaries. Q. Will you please tell me something about the walking-leaf insect?—F. O'H. A. This insect bears a remarkable like- ness to a leaf. When newly emerged from the egg, it is reddish-yellow in color, but as soon as it has made a meal, the coloring matter of the food seems to spread through its tissues so that 1t harmonizes afolutely with the plant on which it is feeding. Q. Why are young children so often referred to as “moppets”?—J. N. A. “Moppet” is a diminutive, from the Middle English “mop” or “moppe,” a rag doll or baby. Q. Can you give me the names of some famous musical compositions that were written in a very short time? I be- lieve “The Messiah” is one.—T. D. A. A. Handel wrote “The Messiah” in 23 ni composed * Tw Barber of s hn fin- . while tten “Don ished “Ruy Blas" in two Giovanni” in a single night. Q. Please tell me the story behind the art treasures of St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice—U. T. P. A. A law of the Venetian republic re- quired that every merchant trading with the East bring back something for the adornment of St. Mark’s. As a result the church is unique in richness of dec- orations. Q. I should like the name of the fa- mous horse ridden by Gen. Philip Sheri- dan—J. J. C. A. Gen. Sheridan's horse was krown as “Rienzi” until after the ride to Win< chester, Va., when it was renamed “Win- chester.” Q. Is the North Pole higher or lower than the South Pole?—V. E. H. A. The North Pole is located in the sea, therefore it is at sea level. The South Pole lies on the continent of Antarctica, at an elevation of approxi- mately 10,2200 feet. Q. Which State has the most rainfall? —F. R. 8. A. The wettest State is Louisiana with an annual average rainfall of 55.11 inches. Q. Is there a clause in the Constitution prohibiting members of certain religious denominations from becoming President of the United States?—C. J. 8. A. Article VI, clause 3 of the Consti- tution provides that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office of public trust under the United States.” Q. What percentage of Hawail's pope ulation is Japanese?—L. J. H. 2 A. Thirty-seven per cent, out of & pops ulation of 423,330, are Japanese. Q. Who invented kangaroo golf?—M. B H A. It was designed by Pletro A. Yon, musiclan and gelfer. Concerning Moons The thin young moon for wishing on... And I wished ardently While the silver curve hung tangled In the old pear tree. The great full moon for walking With one’s own true love . . . A city street—what matter— Or a pathway through the grove. Tonight the round' mo<;n sh;nes upon The road I walk with you ... (It shows what I was wishing When the moon was new.) B. Y. WILLIAMS.